Better Broadband Better Lives

Panel Will Consider the State of Play for NTIA and RUS Grant-Making Process

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2009 – BroadbandCensus.com Executive Director Drew Clark will participate in a webcast on “New England and the Broadband Recovery Act,” hosted in Boston and available online over the Internet, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Friday, April 3, 2009.

The event, which is sponsored by the National League of Cities TV in cooperation with Atlantic-ACM, MassNetComms and & TV Worldwide, will kick off with special remarks from Rhode Island Treasurer Frank Caprio and feature three panels: (1) the role of the 20 percent match in leveraging fiscal stimulus funding; (2) how to bring super-fast 100 Megabit per second connections to New England by 2012; and (3) what’s the state of play of broadband stimulus implementation?

New England the Broadband Recovery Act Conference

Clark will be moderating the third panel, on the role of broadband stimulus, with panelists Fred Goldstein, of Ionary Consulting; Stuart N. Brotman, President, Stuart N. Brotman Communications; Jon Banks, Senior Vice President, Law and Policy, US Telecom; and David Broadwin, Partner, Emerging Enterprise Center, Foley Hoag LLP.

BroadbandCensus.com is a premium provider of news, information and events about broadband technology, and is at the forefront of understanding and explaining the implementation of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus package on the federal, state and local level. It publishes free daily news reports and BroadbandCensus.com Weekly Report, a subscription-based newsletter with exclusive news and analysis.

Since January 2008, BroadbandCensus.com has been building a public, transparent and freely accessible database about local broadband speeds, prices, availability, reliability and competition. You can help us fill the broadband data gap by Taking the Broadband Census.

Webcasts of the Broadband Breakfast Club are produced in partnership with TV Worldwide/TV Mainstream, a partner of BroadbandCensus.com.

Program of “New England and the Broadband Recovery Act”

What’s in it for New England

Watch live as our panelists discuss implementation of the Broadband stimulus provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, what’s in it for New England and how to access the funds. Panels will cover the availability of private funding to compliment broadband grants, New England broadband projects that are being discussed and what funds can be used for, and key implementation issues. Viewers are encouraged to submit questions during the webcast using the link provided under the video window.

With Special Remarks from Frank Caprio, Treasurer, Office of the General Treasurer State of Rhode Island

Panel 1: 20% and Beyond: How to leverage a $2 Million Grant into a $10 Million Project
The Broadband Stimulus requires that the Federal share of NTIA funds may not exceed 80%. How can companies and governments fund the remaining 20%? Are there opportunities to finance a bigger piece in order to further leverage stimulus dollars?

Martin L. Stern, K&L Gates, Moderator

Richard Lukaj, Bank Street Group, Senior Managing Director / Founder

Panel 2: 100Mbs by 2012: Delivering the Dollars
What New England broadband projects are models for the Recovery Act? What can funding be used for? Who do you work with in the states, and how important is their support? Can private companies go it alone, or will working through a consortia or public-private partnership be a key element to a successful proposal?

Panel 3: Broadband Stimulus Implementation: What’s the State of Play?
NTIA and RUS have held a series of public meetings and are receiving comments on various implementation issues, such as private entity eligibility; the definitions of broadband, unserved, and underserved; selection criteria; and the role of the states. The FCC will be consulting with NTIA on the definition of non-discrimination and open access. What do we know so far about these issues, timing of grants, grant sizes, and other key implementation questions?

Drew Clark, Broadband Census, Executive Director, Moderator

Jon Banks, Senior Vice President, Law and Policy, US Telecom

David Broadwin, Partner, Emerging Enterprise Center, Foley Hoag LLP

Stuart N. Brotman, President, Stuart N. Brotman Communications

Fred Goldstein, Ionary Consulting

The webcast is availble for public sector employees, including members of the National League of Cities. For private sector employees seeking to participate, the registration charge is $75.00. Register for the event at http://www.nlctv.org/events/broadband_recovery/090403

Drew Clark is the Chairman of the Broadband Breakfast Club. He tracks the development of Gigabit Networks, broadband's impact, and the universal service fund @BroadbandCensus. He is also Of Counsel with the firm of Best Best & Krieger LLP. The articles and posts on BroadbandBreakfast.com and affiliated social media, including LinkedIN, are not legal advice or legal services, do not constitute the creation of an attorney-client privilege, and represent the views of their respective authors.